Barrel storage rack



Sept. 1946. w. F. ZABRI-SKIE 2,406,937

BARREL STORAGE RACK Filed June 19, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 T 73? I I f 'NVENTOR' WILLIAM F. ZABRISKIE ATTORNEY Se t. 3,1946.

w. F. ZABRISKIE 2,406,937

BARREL STORAGE RACK Filed June 19, 1944' 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM F. ZABRISKIE ATTORN EYS Sept. 3, 1946. w.- F. ZABRISKIE 6, BARREL STORAGE RACK Filed June 19, 1944 I '4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I F lG.3.

INVENTOR. WILLIAM F. ZABRISKIE ATTORNEYS Sept. 3, 1946. .w. F. ZABRISKIE ,9

- BARREL STORAGE mack Filed June 19, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG-.8.

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'WQLLIIAM F. ZABRISKIE I zMw/mwww ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 3, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

2,406,937 BARREL STORAGE RACK William F. Zabriskie, Detroit,

Gabriel Steel Comp Mich., assignor to any, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application June 19, 1944, Serial No. 541,107

6 Claims.

ments forming such structure; fourth, in the means for leveling the rack even when suspended from an irregular ceiling; fifth, the means for forming the mezzanine aisle floor providing access to the rack; sixth, the Walks between adjacent rack sections; and, seventh, in various specific features of the construction as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of one of the rack sections as Viewed from the aisle;

Fig. 2 is an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1 or as viewed from one of the catwalks;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1 illustrating the construction of the section adjacent to the. aisle, the means of connecting one of the runways mezzanine floor Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a plan View of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross section on line 55, .Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of one of the catwalk supports;

Fig, 7 is a horizontal section showing the catwalk support in plan; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are views similar to Fig. 3 showing modified construction of runways.

thereof and a support for the being a section on line 33,

Usually barrel rack structures are formed of wooden members supported on the floor of the building and, because of the necessary cross section of these members, quite a large part of the space is occupied thereby. Also, it is difiicult to maintain the rack rectangular particularly where sagging in the floor may occur at certain points. To overcome these defects I have devised a construction of barrel rack which is formed of, metallic members and is suspended from the ceiling with the exception of the lowermost tier of barrels which may be supported on the floor beneath. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, A is a ceiling structure having anchors B secured thereto from which suspended. These anchors may be of anysuitable construction but, as illustrated, each is formed of a channel member B imbedded in the ceiling together with sustaining anchor arms B The lower face of the channel is flush with the ceiling and has opposite inwardly extending flanges B for engaging the head of a threaded bolt B The anchors are arranged in spaced pairs constituting rows which preferably extend transversely from a center aisle in the building. C are suspension rods each of which is the rack sections are supported from an anchor B preferably by means I of a turnbuckle D engaging the threaded bolt and a threaded upper end portion of the rod.

This permits of individually adjusting the rod 0 to level the structure as will be hereinafter explained. Each pair of rods C has connected thereto a series of cross members E fo supporting runways being spaced from .each other to provide clearance for a barrel therebetween. The cross members E are preferably tubes of rectangular cross section which at their opposite ends are fashioned to embrace the bar G extending substantially half way around the same. These ends are then welded to the rods to form a rigid connection thereto as indicated at E. A series of pairs of rods and cross bars supported from the anchors B form a row extending from the center aisle to the side wall of the building. Supported on the aligned cross bars are rails or runways F preferably formed of wooden strips secured to the bars by supporting bearings G.-

Each of these, as shown in, Figs. 1 and 3, is formed of an inverted channel member G embracing the cross member E and tilted at an oblique angle thereto. The raised end of the member G abuts against an upwardly extending flange G of an angle member, the lower flange of which is welded to the member E. The member G is also welded to the flange G and to the member E so as to form a rigid connection therewith. The strip F which is of rectangular cross section rests upon the member G with one side against the flange G and a bolt H passing through the flange and strip secures the same together. With the construction just described the barrels may be engaged with the rack of the inclined arrangement of the bearings-G the upper surfaces of the strips F will be correspondingly transversely inclined at substantially the same angle as the surface 01 the barrel.

the barrel can be successively rolled along all of the space is filled.

Thus, the runways until A series of racks, as above described, are arranged in adjacent rows extending from the central aisle to the side wall of the building but for purpose of inspection it is necessary to leave a narrow space between rows. Also, for engagement of the barrels with the upper tiers and for inspection of the same, a mezzanine floor is necessary. For supporting the mezzanine floor in the aisle, the registering rods C on opposite sides of the aisle have secured thereto a cross beam on which the flooring is placed. As this places an additional load on these end rods, they are preferably of a larger cross section to be correspondingly increased in strength. The cross beams I, as specifically shown, are channel members which are attached to the hanger rods C by plates J welded to the sides of said rods and clamping bolts K. Catwalks are also provided between adjacent rows at the level of the mezzanine aisle floor. These are formed preferably by inverted channel members L notched at their ends to fit around the rod C, U-bolts M welded to the web portions of the members L embrace the hangers C and are secured thereto by clamping plates N and nuts 0. The catwalk floor is formed by a plank extending over and supported upon the members L. Thus, the inspector can pass from the mezzanine floor of the aisle to the catwalks between successive rows of barrel racks to inspect r all of the barrels therein.

While I have described the runways as formed of wooden strips secured to inclined bearings on the cross members E, such construction is not essential. Thus, as shown in Fig. 8, the runway strips F are directly supported on the members E adjacent to the hanger rods C, and an anchor bracket P and lag screw Qform the attachment means. The upper surface of the strip F is inclined at F to correspond to the angle of the barrel. Fig. 9 shows another modification where in place of wooden strips for the runways a metallic channel bar R is used. The cross members M are formed with inclined portions adjacent to the rods C on which the bars to the rod C bears against the web of the channel and a U-bolt T is used for clamping the bar against said lug.

In installing the racks the hangers formed by a pair of rods C together with the cross members E are successively attached to the bolts B of the anchors B by means of the turnbuckles D. If the ceiling is not perfectly horizontal, the turnbuckles provide for relative adiustment of the rod C so that the hangers will extend vertically downward. The length of the hangers is less than the space between the ceiling and the floor so as to leave room for one tier of barrels supported directly on the floor. These engage runway strips U which are nailed to the floor.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A storage for barrels or the like comprising a building of one or more stories, a series of freely suspended hangers each including a pair of spaced vertically extending rods and a plurality of cross members between said rods welded thereto, runway strips extending the length of the series of hangers above each of said cross members and attached thereto, anchors secured to the ceiling of said building positioned in alignment with the rods of said hangers, and attachment means between said anchors and rods per- R rest. A lug S welded mitting individual adjustment in the height of the latter.

2. A storage for barrels or the like comprising a building of one or more stories, anchors secured to the ceilings of each story positioned in a plurality of rows of spaced pairs, hangers freely suspended from each pair of anchors, each hanger comprising a pair of vertically extending rods, and a plurality of vertically spaced cross members extending between and welded to said rods, and runway strips extending the length of each row of hangers above each of the cross members thereof and secured to said cross members.

3. A storage for barrels or the like comprising a building of one or more stories, each story having anchors secured to the ceiling thereof arranged in rows of spaced pairs, hangers freely suspended from each pair of anchors each comprising vertical rods terminating short of the fioor beneath the ceiling, and a plurality of vertically spaced cross members extending between and welded to said rods, runway strips extending the length of each row of hangers above the cross members thereof and secured thereto, and nonsuspended runway strips secured directly to the floor beneath said ceiling for a row of barrels beneath each row of hangers.

4. A storage for barrels or the like comprising a building of one or more stories, anchors secured to the ceiling of each story, said anchors being arranged in a plurality of rows extending from opposite sides of a center aisle to the side walls, each row including a series of spaced pairs, a hanger freely suspended from each pair of anchors and including a pair of vertically extending rods and a plurality of vertically spaced cross members welded thereto, runway strips above and secured to each cross member extending the length of the series of hangers constituting a row, and a mezzanine floor secured to and suspended by the hangers on opposite sides of said aisle.

5. A storage for barrels or the like comprising a building of one or more stories, anchors secured to the ceiling of each story, said anchors being arranged in a plurality of rows extending from opposite sides of a center aisle to the side walls, each row including a series of spaced pairs, a hanger freely suspended from each pair of anchors and including a pair of vertically extending rods and a plurality of vertically spaced cross members welded thereto, runway strips above and secured to each cross members extending the length of the series of hangers constituting a row, a mezzanine floor secured to and suspended by the hangers on opposite sides of said aisle, and catwalks connecting with said mezzanine aisle floor extending between each row of hangers and supported thereby.

6. A storage for barrels or. the like comprising a building of one or more stories, racks suspended from the ceiling of each story, said racks being arranged on opposite sides of a central aisle and each rack comprising a series of freely suspended hangers including spaced vertical rods and a plurality of vertically spaced cross members welded thereto, the rods adjacent said aisle being of larger cross section, runways strips above and secured to each of said cross members extending the length of the rack, and a mezzanine aisle floor secured to and supported by the rods of larger cross section.

WILLIAM F. ZABRISKIE. 

